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Posted By Discussion Topic: Low speed steering wobble with '40 steering box? -- page: 1 2     Flatbob 01-26-2014 @ 12:46 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 437 Joined: Oct 2009 Have a '40 steering gear box in my '36, at around 15MPH in first gear I get uncontrollable front end wobble. With steering wheel centered and wheels straight forward the steering wheel has no play to the left but a lot of play to the right. Am thinking this condition may be contributing to my steering problem, what should I do to correct steering wheel play? Went through the box before installing but din't replace large worm gear as it appeared visually okay. deuce_roadster 01-26-2014 @ 5:31 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 284 Joined: Oct 2009 Have you verified that the king pins, tie rod ends, drag ling ends and toe in are correct and without play? Stroker 01-26-2014 @ 6:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 In addition to Deuce Roadster's excellent advice, have someone observe for any movement of the steering box in relation to the frame while you rotate the wheel. Flatbob 01-26-2014 @ 8:25 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 437 Joined: Oct 2009 The king pins are new and fit the spindles as they should, checked tie rod ends and drag link. No slop in pitman arm. Again, at this point my main concern is how much play there is in the steering wheel, but only in one direction to the right (100°) and zero play to the left. I have maybe slightly less than 1/16" toe in but have about 1.5° of camber in instead of out. If this is a camber issue I wouldn't know what to do about it. Will verify box to frame movement. This message was edited by Flatbob on 1-26-14 @ 8:26 PM supereal 01-26-2014 @ 9:13 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 From your description, it sounds as if you didn't correctly position the worm gear when the box was assembled. There is special spot on the worm that has a high point. When you remove the pitman arm, turn the steering wheel from one stop to the other, and count the turns. When you reach half of the total turns, you should be able to find that spot by feel. Then reinstall the pitman arm with the front wheels facing exactly ahead. It is likely you wil have to repostion the steering wheel when completed. The worm is constructed so the front wheels should come back to straight ahead after turning. If this procedure doesn't fix the problem, it is likely the box will have to come out to be assembled properly. This message was edited by supereal on 1-26-14 @ 9:14 PM Flatbob 01-27-2014 @ 8:14 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 437 Joined: Oct 2009 Super, when you say "you should be able to find that spot by feel;" do you mean I can feel it through the steering wheel? When I had the box apart to replace what I could I never removed the worm gear so am assuming it was installed correctly. Will do as you suggest but I think I've already done as you described but never felt the spot you described on the worm gear. Thanks for the help[. deuce_roadster 01-27-2014 @ 8:58 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 284 Joined: Oct 2009 When everything is as it should be, the "feel" will be tightest when in the middle of the travel and there will be "slack" at each end of the travel. Like Super said, you should feel it tightest at the steering wheel when you are HALFWAY through the total number of turns lock to lock. At this point, set your wheels straight ahead and fit the pitman arm to the box. If it is loose at the center of travel and tight elsewhere, I think the box has to come apart. I have 3 40 boxes I built from all NOS Ford parts, including the housing casting and it was as described by Super. Be sure you go through the adjustment process carefully. This message was edited by deuce_roadster on 1-27-14 @ 9:01 AM Flatbob 01-27-2014 @ 9:25 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 437 Joined: Oct 2009 As soon as the garage warms up a little bit with the heaters on today, will see if I can do what has been suggested. supereal 01-27-2014 @ 11:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 In addition to my post on the setting of the "high spot", The wobble is another concern. I fought that problem in my "Model A" days. All wheels, front and back, should be checked for "runout". That is, to find any that are bent or oblong instead of round. Same is true of the tires, themselves. We have found many that are lopsided. The amount of toe-in can set off a wobble, particulary if there is any play in the steering box. We used to set that at zero. If you are getting the wobble around 15 mph, wheel balance is probably not a factor. If the problem continues, over inflate the tires, one at a time, to see if there is a difference. Same is true of swapping wheels to different positions. Rear wheels and tires are often the cause of wobble or shimmy. It can be a dangerous condition. deuce_roadster 01-27-2014 @ 11:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 284 Joined: Oct 2009 I forgot to mention to check the ball at the back of the wishbone. That could let the whole front end move if the rubber was gone or cap was loose.

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